How could humanity quickly create a functional long-duration interplanetary spacecraft? In the science fiction novel Vorpal Blade, authors John Ringo and Travis S. Taylor propose converting a ballistic missile nuclear submarine for that purpose. And these authors have not been alone in suggesting that the qualities of submarines might carry over to the voids of space.
Could it work? How long would the crew of a nuclear submarine survive in space? Randall Munroe, a former NASA roboticist and the cartoonist behind xkcd, looks at the physics involved in this scenario. The crew would eventually die, but not because of the reason you might first suspect.
-via The Awesomer